Ben’s Ford Christian School tallied a pair of walk-off wins — both 6-5 victories — over Lamar Christian School, in a doubleheader that took place Friday.
Ben’s Ford did not lead the first game until after the final pitch was thrown.
The Eagles trailed 5-3 going into the bottom of the seventh inning. Ben’s Ford got a rally going and tied the game when Payton Miller was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and only one out, sending pinch runner Isaiah Bolt home. That brought Tucker Keating to the dish. Keating sent a drive to deep centerfield that was over the fielder’s head for the game-winning hit, as Ernesto Woods scored the winning run.
“I was a little nervous, but when I was raised, my dad always taught me before I go up to bat to ask the Lord to please let me hit it. I fouled the first one and hit it the second,” Keating said.
Ben’s Ford had to overcome a 3-0 deficit, which the Eagles trimmed to 3-2, and they also trailed 5-2 before coming back to win.
“We’re not a team that normally comes back from this, but we kept fighting and came out with a win,” Keating said.
Lamar Christian School jumped out to a 3-0 lead.
Lamar led 2-0 after the first inning. Cade Mattison singled and Wyatt Miller walked. Both moved up Hunter Estes’ sacrifice bunt. Chance Regan walked to load the bases, and after the second out, Connor Bowman was hit to plate Mattison. Miller later scored on Luke Bilbo’s RBI walk to make it a 2-0 lead.
It went to 3-0 in the third. Cade Entrekin doubled, went to third on a passed ball and scored on Estes’ RBI double.
Ben’s Ford bounced back in the bottom of the frame with a one-out rally.
Isaac Wascom walked and Jarrett Williams doubled. Brandon Sprehe singled home Wascom and Williams tallied on Dempsey Parden’s RBI groundout to second to make it 3-2 after two.
Lamar added two more runs in the fifth.
Estes reached on a throwing error to leadoff and went to second on the miscue before advancing to third on Regan’s groundout. Lamar ran the squeeze play and Jonah Williamson put down a bunt, but reached first as nobody covered the bag. Estes scored on the play to make it 4-2. Williamson later scored when Ethan Hanna reached on an error for a 5-2 lead.
The Eagles responded with a run in the bottom of the fifth.
With one out and nobody on, Jarvis Dawson stepped to the plate. Dawson got hold of a pitch and sent it down the left field line and gone for a home run.
Dawson’s home run made it a 5-3 game.
The game stayed that way until the bottom of the seventh.
Ben’s Ford needed two runs to send the game to extra innings and three to win it.
Sprehe got the rally started by doubling to the left centerfield gap. Parden singled to left, putting runners on the corners with nobody out.
Woods then hit a run-scoring single to center, plating Sprehe, and the Eagles were within one with the tying and winning runs on base. Dawson loaded the bases with a bloop single to right. After the first out, Miller tied the game by getting hit to drive in Bolt to tie the game at 5-5. Keating was next and sent a deep drive to center for the game-winning hit in the 6-5 victory.
The second game was another one-run game.
This one went to extra innings and Ben’s Ford won the contest 6-5 in nine innings.
The game was tied 5-5 in the ninth inning. Sprehe came up to the plate with a runner on third and one out. Sprehe put down a bunt. Lamar Christian checked the runner at third and attempted to throw to first, but the throw hit Sprehe, allowing the winning run to score in the 6-5 victory for the Eagles.